Ventura Unified board adopts agenda and moves into closed session on labor, personnel and litigation

The Ventura Unified Board of Education on Aug. 27 adopted the meeting agenda and voted to convene a closed session to discuss labor negotiations, employee discipline and existing litigation.

The chair opened the meeting and asked for additions or changes to the agenda. Staff requested that agenda item 15.b.1 be moved to occur before the action items, and the chair then entertained a motion to adopt the agenda. The clerk conducted a roll call for the adoption vote; Trustees Rodriguez, Lavinia (recorded as “Lavere” in one instance), Forsyth, Peterson and Vandenberg (recorded later as “Denenberg” in the transcript) each responded “Yes.” The clerk announced the motion carried 5-0.

After confirming there were no public comments for the closed-session portion, the chair announced the board would move into closed session to discuss three matters: conference with labor negotiators under Government Code section 54957.6; employee discipline, dismissal or release pursuant to Government Code section 54957(b); and conference with legal counsel regarding existing litigation under Government Code section 54956.9(d)(1). The chair then asked for a motion to enter closed session, which was moved and seconded.

The clerk called the roll for the closed-session motion; each named trustee answered “Yes.” The transcript later records the clerk saying “Motion carries” (the numeric tally included in the transcript is garbled). Based on the roll-call responses captured in the record, the motion to convene closed session was carried unanimously.

No additional public details about the closed-session items were disclosed on the public record during the portion of the transcript provided.

Next steps: the board proceeded into closed session; any actions or disclosures resulting from that closed session were not included in the public transcript segment provided.